Involvement of membrane traffic in plant defense response

Abstract

The interactions between plants and incompatible pathogens often lead to hypersensitive response, in association with rapid and localized cell death, hypersensitive cell death, at the infected sites of host tissues. However, little is known about molecular mechanism that operates hypersensitive cell death in plants. We previously reported that a vacuolar processing enzyme is essential for the execution process of hypersensitive cell death through disrupting the vacuole. To investigate the involvement of the vacuolar system in hypersensitive cell death, we inoculated avirulent bacteria into Arabidopsis mutant plants that exhibited abnormal vacuolar system. In several mutants, the hypersensitive cell death was delayed than in wild-type plants. We discuss the involvement of vacuolar system in plant defense systems.